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Become a peer support worker

A peer support worker is someone who has lived experience, and who uses that lived experience to help and support other people who are going through similar things.

We deliver in-house training to people who would like to become peer support workers or carer peer support workers in our mental health and intellectual and developmental disabilities services.

The ethos of peer support – sharing stories with compassion, honesty and empathy to help other people who are struggling with similar things – epitomises recovery; you are not alone, you can live a meaningful life with this, it can, and it will, get better.

Peer support training course

The peer support training course equips trainees with the skills and techniques necessary to become a peer support worker. Trainees learn about sharing their story, active listening, problem solving and boundaries as well as recovery concepts and peer toolkits. The course combines group work, independent reflection and a work placement and has been co-produced by the Trust's Learning and Development Department and specialist peer trainers. It is delivered by these teams as well as current peer support workers.

What do I need to do to get a place on the training course?

To be considered you need to have completed the following three courses at Nottingham Recovery College:

Introduction to Recovery Principles

Your Wellness Plan

Introduction to Sharing Your Lived Experience

These courses are very popular and therefore become fully booked quite quickly. Therefore, if you are unable to complete these courses prior to applying for the peer support training course, please write the date you are expecting to attend them.

Once we have received the expression of interest, you will be added to our database of interested people. Everyone on the list will be contacted and sent an application pack as soon as soon as we advertise for the next peer support training course.

We will then shortlist and interview applicants. Successful candidates will be invited to a development day to meet other successful applicants and find out more about the course and potential work placement opportunities. The scheme is completed over a number of weeks and it is important that you are able to attend 80% of the course to complete your training.

Luke completed the peer support training in 2010 and has previously worked as a peer support worker in both inpatient and community teams. He said:

“Having personally completed the course I am aware of how valuable and rewarding an experience it is, which has helped me to progress my existing knowledge, develop skills and has prepared me for both voluntary and paid work. Together we can raise the awareness of mental health across Nottinghamshire Healthcare, tackle stigma and shape the services people use.”

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